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The Ameralian Mob
Common Knowledge The Ameralian Mob is known among the citizens of Amerale as the dreaded mafia that controls the city's underworld. The achievements of this mafia include humanoid trafficking, drug exportation and other violent, high profile crimes that the local guard are unable or unwilling to bring under heel. Common citizens of Amerale know that the mob has undergone a bloody coup that saw the intimidating Tom Silfedis die in a familial feud that left the head mobster in a coffin and his daughter behind bars for the rest of her life. Today, the mob is presided over by Aquano Silfedis and has undergone significant changes. The city has yet to see if these changes are for better or for worse. Further Description The mafia has been restructured in recent years to suit the current mob-boss’ taste. As such there has been a general preference to switch illegal activities to more questionable yet still legal practices. Furthermore, lauded criminals who fought against the Fel forces during the Siege on Xaoc's castle were exonerated from any misgivings with Amerali Law in honor for their service via questionable judge rulings. Practices The mafia has engaged in multitudes of illegal and legal activities and only a small snippet of their operations is given in detail below. The Silfedis Family engages in violent crimes which include murder of low to high profile targets, beat downs and intimidation tactics of ruining property. Heists against certain wealthy and non-protected members of nobility are frequent vocations of more experienced mob members. The noble in question are encouraged before every heist to 'pay a fee' of protection against general 'slum' crime that may pop up on the doorsteps of nobles before they steal something of value in their household. The guards in that sector are given a sliver of the cut after the heist as insurance and to pay the way for 'blind eyes' when it comes to search for the culprit. The Ameralian mob is seen by the community as the only effective policing force in the city and the muscle members of the mafia take the job to heart. Any competitors in crime are swiftly and brutally dealt with and dropped off by a guard station before the official city guards have a chance to even file a report of the crime. In addition, recent catastrophes have seen the mob able to acquire military grade weaponry such as swords and bows to aid in defending the slums area from invading forces such as zombies and the Fel. While not as professional or disciplined as a regular army, they are trained to buy enough time for the civilians of these areas to escape or to petition state aid from the ruling noble families. The protection racket is seen as the specialty of the Amerali Mobster and as such, the practice has been perfected down to an art. The weekly ledgers in the stores by the bazaars and marketplaces of the city have grown used to the routine offerings of payouts to predetermined collectors. The protection rackets of the mafia have become both feared and hyperbolic stories told by the merchants of Amerale are believed, and for good reason. This ‘second-tax’ or ‘safety-passes’ as the collector describes them, allows the store to operate with peace on the streets without worry from the influence of the Mob. In the case of independent crime, it is often the case that the mafia will deal with the thief before the guards can come and record the damages done to the business. If a store-owner refuses this tax, then overwhelming property damage and 'the slum-mark' will be placed on them as no one will do business with them and crime levitates around them. This protection service has also branched out and evolved to take a more legitimate and legal tone with convoy escorting.This business of escorting merchant ships or caravans to and fro Amerale to U.S.O and back could be considered a stand-alone service that can theoretically survive a total sacking of the mob. However, the truth of the matter is that the merchant shakedowns are often a show to promote the convoy business since the roads to Sanctuary are relatively safe barring the parts going through Dahaan Havazh. In the matter of illegal substances, the Ameralian mob has a trusted relationship for the procurement and distribution of a wide variety of chemical hallucinogens, combat drugs and exotic materials. Famous drugs such as 'Blow' have been converted to legal 'over the counter' medicinal pick me ups for public consumption by less than reputable doctors. However, in a display of peasant ingenuity, these street chemists who are also known as 'Bakers' managed to reduce the negative effects such as 'increased libido'and heart related complications to reorient the performance of the drug to become a stamina drought that can be used by the masses. This version has become quite popular in a variety of items such as incense, candles, sugar pellets and as a 'sexual supplement.' The nightclub life of Amerale has undergone a vast restructuring and bordellos that act as the staging point for many of the mob's dealings have scattered across the city's inner borders. Many tired laborers flock to these establishments for a taste of the fine alcohol and the opportunity to take one of the many escorts on a 'companionship date'. Being one of the largest income generators for the mob and the city proper the amount of security rivals that of a small noble house. The bouncers here are usually ex-military and are held to a higher standard than that of the town guard. Amerale hosts a vibrant black market sector that attributes an uncounted but significant amount to its G.D.P. Clients that require discreet business transactions flock to the underground caverns of the city to purchase the ill-gotten possessions of nobles, rare and exotic gemstones, boosted artifacts of power, and national paintings of various origins. Curiously, no rare animals skins and boosted artifacts of natural origin are allowed for sale in these conventions, no matter how ludicrously beneficial the prospected deals are. These transactions go to other competitors and are usually not as protected as some spy or mole seems to direct the attention of the authorities to these places every time they meet. Ameralian information brokers have a network of merchant informants from Amerale and their communication extends to all of Amerale's export routes. Insider trading secrets, embarrassing blackmail materials, and even false-flag operational deception techniques are not above the Brokers of Amerale who seek to maximize profits. It will be a goal of the mob to have information centers coordinating within underground chambers filled with knowledgeable scholars and marketing teams to assist assorted ‘wet-work’ squads to acquire even foreign secrets of merchants, persons of interests and competitors. Spying is a human resource that even state actors such as Kings and Councils are in need of and the Mob of Silfedis seek to provide that need. Finally, enough political clout was reached that new sanitation jobs and an entire sanitation/recycling sector for has been privatized by the family. The work and pay is fair and used to ‘tie over’ the restlessness of some of the crews as a vital source of income for their friends and families in times of economic hardship. The streets are cleaner than Amerale's competitors and tourists to the city leave feeling refreshed and renewed, if with a few less rings in their pocket. History Origin Before the Silfedis Familia there was rampant disorganized crime in Amerale. This pandemonium was the symptoms of a struggling populace trying to find avenues of economic success to survive in the bustling and often harsh city life of the Capital. One Tom Silfedis, then a town fool, drunkard and local vagrant, entered the Fallen Oak tavern with a bunch of his scholarly dropouts and drank to their woes. Amidst the drunken party, a few ruffians came by and slit one of his friends throats and robbed the entirety of the tavern blind in a robbery that would be talk of the town for months to come. A destitute man of poor moral fiber due to his environment, Tom vowed to get revenge instead of turning the other cheek and keeping their heads down like the other patrons. Using thievery skills honed in from mass burglaries, petty pickpockets and one heist in the Almighty Library (which failed and granted him six months in the cell block, but was released in two for ‘Good behavior’) he amassed a small fortune that he used to personally run down the small time thugs that ran through his friends with swords and cutlasses. By the end of the adventure he was beaten and bruised and on death’s door but the one who opened was his future wife and confidant, the House of Healer’s very own Kaitlyn Silfedis. His actions earned him both notoriety and infamy among the town guard but to the common populace, he was their very own hero. It wasn’t long before others of his social situation and caste began to talk to him about ‘work’ that needed to be done and through these first connections, the Silfedis Family Mob was born. Events within the group The timeline of the Silfedis Family can be generally outlined as the following. # Tom Silfedis loses his collegiate friends to the Fallen Oak raid from a particularly violent thug gang. Tom vows revenge. # Tom enters the life of crime in his vow and commits debased acts to achieve power and respect from the disorganized and disheveled criminal underworld. # Tom murders the entire thug gang in a night of bloodletting and hatred that rivals serial killers work. He collapses at the House of Healers where Kaitlyn takes him in and heals his wounds. They fall in love shortly after. # Tom’s mob grows in power and slowly takes over the city with each bribe, extortion and drug transaction. The town guards are ineffective or indifferent to the slums actions. # Tom raises a family and has a son and a daughter. # The Silfedis family mob stagnates as Tom reaches his retiring age. He wishes his son, Aquano Silfedis to take over the family business. Aquano refuses and attempts to murder his drunk and abusive father but fails and runs away. Kaitlyn is the temporary successor. # Tom Silfedis continues to rule uncontested despite the hiccup to his prestige. He commits worse and worse crimes to prove that his bark still has a bite. # The Family assists with local guard elements to help repel a zombie invasion from overrunning the entire slums area. In the aftermath, Tom uses some of his immense fortune to rebuild the area and bind it further to his will. # Tom and Kaitlyn’s marriage is extremely strained at this point and they are all but divorced as they focus on Kayla’s development. # The Kaiju attack that was repelled by Queen Leila legitimizes her governance but still devastates the rebuilding slums area. Tom once again, in an act of faith, rebuilds the slums from the ground up with his now dwindling fortune. # Tom furnishes a possible expansion expedition to Marujai and begins furnishing high cost magical supplies to and from the mages of the country. # Aquano comes back from Binturia a new man and confronts his father. Kayla murders Tom but is prevented by Aquano to take over the mob. Kaitlyn is devastated but remains strong and now focuses entirely on her work. She considers disowning her entire family and starting anew. The Penskruigman affair is a symptom of this thought process. # Aquano takes members of the Silfedis mob to confront Xaoc. # The Restructuring of the Amerali mob commences with various effects and repercussions. Organization Endeavors The Mob has mixed relations within Amerali society. They function as a policing force in their areas and reduce competitor crime which eases the work of the overly taxed guard force. They also form as a layer of expensive protection to businesses and merchants and provide much needed relief in times of disaster or economic depressions. First and foremost they decidedly would want to make a profit before being seen as saviors as they all know that being kind does not fill the empty bellies of the destitute. That said, the current Grandfather Oak is attempting to reform the gang into a group of positivism to rise the slums to at least a working class level of economic status. In addition, a ‘Sanctuary’ in Amerale is gaining artificial favor within the courts of Amerale and by this clue, many could hazard an accurate guess to the origin of this influence. Interactions with the Binturian Party None so far. Structure The Mafia is based on a ‘Family’ structured unit. At the top lies the Head Boss or ‘Grandfather’ which has been restyled as ‘Grandfather Oak’. The Head Grandfather Oak is Aquano Silfedis. Any special roles are given special naming conventions based on trees and it is as follows:' Willow - Ghost or Assassin Oak - Enforcers, Leaders Yew - Archers or Scouts or Get Away. Maple - Muscle, or Grunts Lychee - Sex Worker, Attractive Other Evergreen or Sapling - New or inexperienced members, Incompetents. Alder - Food Cooks or Street Chemists / Bakers Bonsai - Friendly or mafia owned store owner, Art centered person Ash - Heavy Enforcers Apple - House of Healer personnel Mahogany - Fool, Idiot, Dead weight, Weakest Link ' These are just a few names of roles of the multi-talented crew of the Mafia.' The Consigliere or Head Adviser is Narseo, they get the role Father or Mother Oak and they generally keep things smooth among those still loyal to Tom Silfedis. If not, then they get the boot.' The Under boss rank is held by a Maple, one Valerie ‘Freedom’ who was lifted to the position by Aquano for her ability to lead the Underground through both intimidation and gravitas.' There are numerous Capos or ‘Oaks’ that run different sections of the city under the administration of their superiors but generally are the ones to ‘run the streets’.' Underneath the Capos are the Soldiers or ‘Maples’ who enforce the will of the mob. They survive the harsh struggles of the economic realities of the slums. Many are only in because this is the only path left available to them. Underneath the soldiers are the ‘Associates’ or ‘Bonsais’ that help the mafia indirectly and with support since it is viewed that these individuals are both from the streets. While rough and inexperienced with criminality, they will do more than what can be done at the top levels of Amerali governance. Further Information -Aquano Silfedis Category:Notable NPCs